AILA Executive Director Benjamin Johnson responds to the January 22 Congressional vote to reopen and fund the government for three weeks, ending the government shutdown. Image courtesy of Pixabay, Geralt

American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Executive Director Benjamin Johnson responds to the January 22, 2018, congressional vote to reopen and fund the government for three weeks, until February 8, 2018 ending the government shutdown.

Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, once again let politics take precedence over the lives of real people, and has squandered another opportunity to protect Dreamers. Despite the fact that a vast majority of voters support measures to protect Dreamers, the hopes of this compelling population are fading as Congress fails to pass the Dream Act legislation, initially introduced with bipartisan support 20 years ago.

These numbers do not take into account those individuals whose protection had already expired before the termination of DACA was announced. Prior to September 5, 2017, DACA recipients could renew their DACA application up to one year after it expired. Most people did not renew their DACA protection on time because they were unable to afford the filing fee. However, when the Administration announced that it was ending DACA, it also changed the rule – preventing anyone whose DACA status expired before September 5, 2017 from being eligible to renew their status. Suddenly and without warning, people with expired DACA status who had been saving up to pay their filing fee were cut out of the program altogether.

Without DACA, Dreamers Lose All Protections and Face Imminent Deportation

Upon being granted DACA, young people received “deferred action.” Deferred action is a discretionary decision by DHS not to pursue enforcement against a person for a specific period. That means that, as soon as a Dreamer’s DACA status expires, DHS is immediately able to target them for enforcement and have them deported. Deferred action does not provide legal immigration status—instead, it grants only a temporary reprieve from enforcement.

Dreamers have already faced enforcement actions. A few recent examples include the following:

Osman Aroche Enriquez is a Dreamer from Pennsylvania whose DACA expired after the USPS failed to deliver his application on time. Osman was pulled over for an expired vehicle registration and then transferred to ICE custody. He was not released for another three days.

Daniela Vargas, a Mississippi Dreamer who was brought to the U.S. from Argentina when she was 7, was detained by ICE minutes after speaking at a news conference about how her family had been targeted in an enforcement raid. She spent nearly two weeks week in detention before she was released.

What can you do?

Tell your Congressional representatives to pass the Dream Act. Contact your Senator and your Representative, sign a petition, or call (202) 224-3121. For more ideas on how to connect with your Congressional representatives, click here.

Rasoulpour Torregoza is the law firm for immigrants, by immigrants. We are founded on the motto of LegalEase: we do away with the legal jargon and make law easy to understand, so you can focus on what’s important to you – going for your American Dream.Contact us at (888) 445-7066 or info@legalease.us. We are also on social media and on Skype: @LegalEaseUS. ||www.LegalEase.usThis website and blog constitute attorney advertising. Do not consider anything on this website or blog legal advice as the law is dynamic, particularly in the immigration field and nothing in this website constitutes an attorney-client relationship being formed. Set up a one-hour consultation with us before acting on anything you read here. Past results are no guarantee of future results and prior results do not imply or predict future results. Each case is different and must be judged on its own merits.

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This website and blog constitute attorney advertising. Do not consider anything on this website or blog legal advice as the law is dynamic, particularly n the immigration field and nothing in this website constitutes an attorney-client relationship being formed. Set up a one-hour consultation with us before acting on anything you read here. Past results are no guarantee of future results and prior results do not imply or predict future results. Each case is different and must be judged on its own merits.